Appreciation: I Remember Jay

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When I emigrated from Guyana to New York in the mid-'80s, Run-DMC was at the vanguard of the hip-hop form that would eventually fill my personal and professional lives. They were my cultural bridge, veritable heroes. I'd come to know the trio well in my Caribbean homeland listening to their music on audiotapes well-worn from endless play. That summer of 1985, on my first day in Brooklyn, the familiar vocal machinations of Joseph "Run" Simmons and Darryl "DMC" McDaniels, backed by Jam Master Jay's deft turntable manipulation, struck my ears as I emerged into the hot, sticky air. I turned a hopeful gaze upon three young men gathered next door, listening to music on a boom box. They looked …